Reviews with content warning for Injury/Injury detail - A Broken Blade

Wow wow wowwww! I had no idea what to expect from this book since I only picked up the audiobook on Libby for being a fantasy romance (without reading the blurb) but it beat every expectation I had. I assumed it was YA, so imagine my surprise when the characters started cussing in some parts and there was even some spice (though they didn’t go all the way). I love that it was a high stakes fantasy that didn’t shy away from the violence and gore especially since most of it was done by our badass female lead. As for the romance, I’m not mad about the person who was “The Shadow” being predictable bc it leads to an amazing enemies to lovers situation filled with tension due to their forced proximity (and even the “single bed” trope😉.)

The ending may have also been a bit obvious with its plot twist but it left off at a good cliffhanger, so I can’t wait to pick up the next book!

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booksthatburn's review against another edition

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missgarceau's review

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adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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booksalacarte's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

A Broken Blade- 3.5⭐️ 2.5🌶️

Keera is a killer. As the King’s Blade, she is the most talented spy in the kingdom. And the King’s favored assassin. When a mysterious figure called the Shadow starts making moves against the Crown, Keera is forced to hunt the masked menace down.

She crosses into the magical lands of the Fae, trying to discern if her enemy is Mortal, Elf, or a Halfling like her. But the Faeland is not what it seems, and neither is the Shadow. Keera is shocked by what she discovers and can’t help but wonder who her enemy truly is…

The King that destroyed her people? The Prince that tortures them? Or the Shadow that threatens her place at court?

As she searches for answers, Keera is haunted by a promise she made long ago. A promise not only to save herself but an entire kingdom.

✨My Opinion✨

The cover is beautiful! The iridescent is so fitting for the mystery of an assassin.

The FMC is an alcoholic, so be aware of that being actively described throughout the book. She also self-harms. It brings a severity to her character that is heavy and hard to get past.

The book takes a look at the genocide of a race of Elves and a war brewing beneath the surface. Characters are multidimensional from the start. The foreshadowing was great and I really enjoyed the characters.

Morally grey FMC

Chosen one

Female assassin

Enemies to lovers

Forced proximity

One horse

One bed

Who did that to you

Betrayal

Bi rep

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sflory910's review

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adventurous dark hopeful mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Not super well written and chock full of cliches, but still a surprisingly enjoyable read! If I’d found this book when I was 17, it would have become my whole personality. It deals with some serious subjects, but is definitely written for YA, or at the very least by someone that writes YA fiction.

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alilab14's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

This is written by an Indigenous Women (Anishinaabe-kwe) and this fantasy world has some Indigenous influences into its story. So Keera reflects the damages from colonialism and intergenerational trauma that Indigenous people still face. The main character suffers from alcohol abuse and self harm and after reading others reviews, from assuming non-Indigenous reviewers, I will like to say an an Indigenous reader this is not written to be harmful or romanticized but actually very hopeful and I’m very glad Melissa gave Keera a very deeply human internal battle. But I will also say it is hard to read so if you may be sensitive to these topics, especially if you have been affected by colonialism, question if you can read it, but Keeras journey is full of hope. There is a content warning in the front of book and on this website

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nicolesbookcase's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

A solid middle-of-the-road rating of 2.5 seems appropriate. The beginning of this book was a definite 1 or 2; I almost DNF'd a few times within the first 10 chapters. But after that it got a little better. And then the second half of the book was a solid 4 stars, for me.

This is very evidently a debut novel, and I believe better editing would have significantly helped this book. The writing is, for the most part, good, and the premise is amazing. The tropes and themes and representation in this book are fantastic. I just wish the introduction to all of it had been better laid out.

The flow of the writing was super choppy in the beginning; it was almost hard to read because there was no natural cadence to adjacent lines. This did get much better as the book progressed. I think this choppiness came from the content; there was a LOT of info-dumping in the first 10 or so chapters. In order to get the information needed about this fantasy world into the readers' minds, the main character was put into situations and events occurred that didn't make a lot of logical sense, purely so we could get relevant worldbuilding info. That definitely could have been done better. There was also a lot of repetition of a specific plot point in the beginning, which eventually led to huge character development later on, but it was hammered in way too much.

The characterization of the main character, Keera, in the beginning was all over the place. Keera vacillated between being this deadpan, badass assassin who cares for no one and doesn't give a crap about anything to being a devoted friend desperately trying to help to being a clumsy, giggly girl in front of most men she encountered. I understand that people have layers, facets...and Keera was perhaps all of these things, but it honestly felt like I was reading about two different people; she was a completely different person with each character she interacted with. I needed more synchronicity between these different personalities, and given this is written in first person, that should have been easier. I definitely felt like Keera's character was more cohesive in the second half of the book. After more supporting characters were introduced and plot points became more fleshed out, Keera came into her own more; I could actually buy the things she was saying out loud as things she would actually say. There was also great character development of Keera as the book progressed.

There were plot-holes and inconsistencies throughout this book, which I again think would have benefited significantly from better editing. I'm also still not totally sure on some of the worldbuilding points. What is the difference between Elves and Fae? Still not sure, despite all of the info-dumping in the beginning. Hopefully more to come in the following book; I can see how that could become a relevant plot point in the sequel.

I did really enjoy the premise of the book, and the plot in the second half of the book was tense and exciting! I liked the mystery and intrigue involved in who was who and who was involved in what and the risks being taken, and I am excited to read the next book. I also liked the enemies-to-lovers romance aspect, although I did feel like things were a tad rushed, with the enemy going from hating Keera one second to completely falling for her 3 minutes later. There were lots of tropes I love (including THERE'S ONLY ONE BED and WHO DID THIS TO YOU?). There was the classic romance aspect of boy meets girl and girl can't imagine her life without boy, which I don't love, but that's a romance plot for you.

Overall, this is a debut novel with a great premise, a very interesting fantasy world (although one I wish had been fleshed out more without so much info-dumping), great characters with fantastic development and growth, and a very intriguing ending that draws you in to the sequel, but also a book that could have done with some more content editing in the first half to clear up some plot-holes and inconsistencies, adjust the flow of the writing, and cement some characterizations and worldbuilding! I will definitely be picking up the next book, and I imagine it can only get better from here.

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bookish_afrolatina's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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